I watched from the wall as hundreds of people were working on the horizon, clearing the rubble to create a bigger passage to the fortress. Even further away, more of them build catapults and rams, preparing for siege.
-"It would seem that I underestimated our toys."-Cú commented as he compared our trebuchets with their siege weapons.-"How come they can't build something similar?"
-"Simple, they don't understand physics."-I explained.-"It's easy to create something if you understand how it works. Trebuchets aren't complicated in theory, a simple lever and a counterweight, but this is not something a general would learn normally. A qualified carpenter might understand some things, but the army we are facing doesn't have those."
-"Right, it's easy for a mage to talk about knowing."
-"Mages might know many things, but they look down on mundane knowledge even more. Few so-called sages are truly wise, not just knowledgeable and rich. While chemistry, or alchemy, is respected for the wealth it can bring, physics and biology are rarely even considered, let alone math, which denies mystery and replaces it with numbers."
-"And what's your opinion on all of them?"
-"Magic and all the mysteries are part of the world. If you can't understand the world, how can you claim to know what mystery is? Knowledge and magic are both tools; never let your ego limit your options."-I looked at Cú.-"I would give the same advice to warriors and heroes altogether. Don't let your pride turn into hubris, and learn, as only learning will never betray your efforts."
-"You are hinting at me, huh?"-He looked at the clouds peacefully floating over our heads.
-"I'm capable of divinations."-I stopped for a moment.-"So I understand how much pressure one can put on a person. I can't give you a way to break your destiny, but I can say that until the future turns past, it can always change. Don't live only to prove it wrong, but always know that your efforts will never disappear, so fight until the end."
-"Fight..."-Cú was silent for a while before shaking his head and hooking his arm on my shoulder.-"Thanks, man. I needed to hear that."
-"No problem."-I noticed Diarmuid signaling that the knights were ready to depart.-"It's time for me to go."
-"We'll keep this place safe."
As I was about to jump from the wall to join the knights waiting there, Cú called out to me.
-"Eno."
I looked back at him.
-"Don't forget to keep a place for me in your future armies."
-"I only need victors."-I smiled in response.
-"Heh, I won't lose that or any fight."
-"It's a promise then."-I nodded and jumped down.
Joining Diarmuid below, I covered our group of 200 knights with illusion, and we started moving into the mountains. Despite the passage being barely wide enough for a horse to pass, with some magic, we managed to pass through it in three days. After establishing camp behind enemy lines, we waited for a signal to act. And after another two days of waiting, one of the sentries noticed a firework in the evening sky. The enemy offensive had begun.
I flew into the air, hidden from the outside by illusion, wanting to know the situation. The first thing that came into view was the two or so hundreds of giant birds circling the fortress. On them, riders equipped with halberds and bows were constantly harassing defenders in the fortress. If not for my magical wards keeping them safe, the defense might have already been a tragedy.
Because of their limited success in attacking the defenders directly, I could see that most of the birds focused their attention on the trebuchets, trying to destroy them before they could cause more destruction. My army was prepared for that, so despite mounting losses of the enemy, they were unable to damage any of our weapons.
But this state couldn't continue, and so I needed to deal with them quickly. The issue was how to do so without exposing my location to the enemy. To resolve this trouble, I had to use the advantage of fighting on our territory. Taking the Royal Scepter out, I quietly connected myself to the runes in the fortress. I worked hard to establish the whole fortress as my Magician's Workshop for this moment.
With the scepter in my right hand, I pointed it forward toward a projection of the fortress that formed before me. On the palm of my crystaline left hand, an orb of purple magic formed, and as it gathered more power, the gravity around it started to bend. I slowly let the orb flow forward, stopping it high above the fortress.
The moment the orb stopped, the gravity above the real fortress started to bend. Seconds later, a few meters-wide orb appeared in the air. Everything around it quickly began to be pulled into it, and before all the bird riders could react, they all fell into the range of the orb. When that happened, I finished.
The orb instantly exploded, covering everything in its range in the gravitational waves, but the moment the waves approached the limits of its influence, a resounding shattering sound echoed around. Before anyone could comprehend what happened, the whole explosion was sucked into the place where the orb was, disappearing with everything it consumed, leaving behind only a small crack in the space.
When I lowered my scepter and let the projection disappear, the chaos among enemy lines erupted. Soldiers started to desert, and the knights' horses were frightened. Enemy commanders tried their best to regain control, but they couldn't break through all the noise around. And to make their day even worse, the gates to the fortress just swung open, and from inside, knights led by Fionn started their charge.
-"Get ready to move."-I spoke to Diarmuid on the side.
-"I already gave the order. We can move in ten minutes."
I nodded and whistled to call Arion. When she appeared, I gave her a gentle rub, looking at the armor she was now wearing. Arion's forehead and nose were covered by a silver shaffron, her black mane standing out on the crinet decorated with golden runes. Peytral and crupper were also silver, filled with a magic inscription giving them a fairy-like appearance.
The previous old saddle and rucksacks were replaced by new ones; not only was the saddle much more comfortable, but even the sacks were enchanted to increase their volume. Arion now looked like a true warhorse, her blue eyes full of pride and satisfaction due to her new 'clothes'.
-"It would seem that Morgan managed to conquer you with her gift, my partner. Though you indeed look great."-I smiled as I continued petting Arion.
Arion neighed, pleased with my compliment.
-"Ready for a ride? Like the old times?"
Arion nodded, her demeanor slowly turned serious but excited.
I climbed on her saddle, my Crystal Spear changing shape to better fit fighting on horseback. Calling it a spear now would be incorrect, as currently it looks more like a halberd, almost exactly the same as Loretta's War Sickle. Two of us often worked together, so we shared our experience and techniques, so most of my techniques for fighting on horseback came from her.
-"Fou, can you move?"-I asked my new companion sleeping in my hood.
-"Fou..?"-They woke up hearing my call, taking a while to understand what I meant, but jumping from my hood onto my saddle in front of me.
-"Thanks."-I pet their little head for a moment before putting my hood on.
While Merlin made my hood purely visual, having no other practical function aside from covering my face with illusion, Morgan strengthened it while I was training with Scáthach, adding a powerful identity covering spell. While it was somewhat useless, as my fame was widespread, it could shield me from some special tracing spells or gazes that wanted to see 'too much'.
Morgan asked me to wear it during combat or while in public situations outside the safety of my Magician's Workshop from now on, explaining that some of our prospective enemies were well known for utilizing curses that were hard to resolve after they were cast. I agreed with her request even though I knew that my magic resistance was closer to immunity when it came to applied effects.
-"We are ready."-Diarmuid approached me on his horse, the rest of the knights behind him..
-"Good."-My voice sounded more ethereal due to my hood.-"We will follow our initial plan while adapting when needed. Remember, our task is to string their camp and cut off their retreat while the main battle is taking place before the fortress. Don't rush for some temporary glory, I don't want to court-martial any of my knights."
-"Yes!"-The knights behind me responded.
-"Then let's get to work."
Hearing my words, Arion started to move, and soon she was in full gallop, zigzaging between trees. The knights behind me tried their best to keep up, bo no horse could keep up with Arion, so she slowed slightly, but the distance still remained.
We continued riding for a few minutes, silent aside the sound of hooves crushing fallen leaves and iron clanking. Only when the enemy camp came into view did we hear the noise from the battlefield happening not that far away. Among all the chaos, I could hear the alarmed cries of sentries noticing our attack.
Ignoring all of that, my eyes focused on a few figures in the distance. Most of them were Shamans, casting spells to assist their soldiers in the fight, but three visibly stood out from the rest. First was the commander of the entire enemy army, a tall and burly man wearing an ornate armor decorated with pelts of various rare and powerful beasts. The other two were even bigger than the commander, wearing almost no armor, showing their body, muscular to a horrifying degree, and covered with dense tattoos, a mix of runes and depictions of myths.
By the said tattoos, I quickly identified them as Berserkers, an elite warrior group with roots in Nordic myths. The two before me were descendants of the Berserkers that settled in Germanic lands years ago, now fully separate from their Nordic origins, while still retaining techniques and magic from their ancestors.
-"Arion."-I spoke while casting a magical enchantment on two of us.
My partner sped up, needing no more words.
Our first target was the commander; dealing with him would help our forces much more. My Crystal Sickle glowed with blue magical light as Arion leaped into the air. But before I could strike, one of the Breserkers jumped in front of me, his greatsword swinging at Arion. Before the strike could connect, Arion jumped again from mid-air, leaping over the Berserker.
Sadly, this still wasn't enough, as the second Berserker reached the commander and protected him. Having lost my target, I swung my Sickle at the Berserker in front of me, striking him head-on. A loud clash showed that he was able to block my attack with his axe, but the strength of it pushed him back a meter or two. Arion instantly continued to move, running into the crowd of Shamans.
My every swing would send a head flying, giving Shamans no chance to respond. The two berserkers rushed to stio me, but before they could catch up to me, most of the Shamans were already dead. Even though a few of the Shamans escaped, this was enough to render them unable to influence the outcome of this battle; as such, I could now fully focus on the Berserkers and the commander.
Both Berserkers engaged me in combat, their tatoes glowing red and eyes filled with fury, diminishing their wisdom while enchanting their power. The Berserker wielding the greatsword tried to overpower me, using his strength to throw me off Arion, while the axe-wielding one used his advantage in speed to attack my blind spots.
To fight with them, I had Arion using his speed to circle my opponents, avoiding their attacks and waiting for an occasion to strike, while I started to use magic, summoning countless Carian Swords forming a grand phalanx to defeat my enemy. This quickly turned the situation of the fight in my advantage, suppressing two Berserkers due to the number of my attacks.
But the current state couldn't continue for long, as the more of my attacks hit the Berserkers, the more their fury grew, giving them even more power. Because of this, I couldn't let this continue much longer; I had to either end this fight with a single attack or use better delay tactics to let them bleed out while suppressing them more thoroughly.
I decided to use the first approach, signaling Arion to jump into the air while I used my magic to condense a great bow. In a few seconds, it took Arion to leap; the power gathered in my hands reached breaking point, so I aimed toward the Berserkers and released the bright blue mass of magic that acted as an arrow. With the sound of air braking, the arrow flew forward, reaching the Berserkes before they could even blink.
And that arrow was the last this they would see, as the moment the impact occurred, the Berserker closer to the epicenter was shredded by the magical explosion, leaving only chunks of meat behind. The other Berserker was in much better shape, but even that was rather tragic, as while he survived the explosion, almost all of his body was burned and mangled by the magic. But despite that, he was still standing, blind and wounded, but still ready to fight like a wild beast.
I could feel that in his current state, he was at the end of his rope, but that made him even more dangerous; his burning oft life was the fuel for his power. Acting on pure instinct, he launched himself toward me while Arion was still landing. Knowing that Arion had no chance to steady herself and move out of the way, I quickly waved my left hand, covering me and Arion with Glintstion haze.
The Berserker arrived before Arion almost instantly, swinging his greatsword in the last desperate attempt to take me with him. The tip of his sword was able to strike my Crystal Sickle, quickly breaking my guard due to his strength, and hit my right side exactly as the haze fully enveloped me. This made the sword cleave the empty air where I just was, while Arion and I appeared a few meters away.
I watched from the side as the Berserker took one more step before falling to the ground, his last breath having left his lungs. Confirming his death, I looked at my right shoulder, where a deep cut started to dye my armor red. I felt strength leaving my right arm; that blade must have been poisoned or cursed, and as such, I knew that I had to leave the rest of the direct battle to others.
After gating Arion to retreat behind the knights from my army, I raised my left hand, magic power leaving my body, and started to permeate the surroundings, noticeably lowering the temperature around. Below me, complicated magical circles started to form, while above the battlefield a frosty clouds gathered. After a minute of casting, I lowered my hand, signaling the completion of my spell.
When that happened, from the formed clouds, deep blue icicles the size of spears started to rain on the enemies, literally raining death upon them. After the longest five minutes of my enemies' lives, the whole battlefield turned into a frozen wasteland, the mix of red and blue creating a macabre beauty. This battle was another victory, but the pain in my right shoulder was a reminder that it wasn't without a price.